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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — for catching
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. club — for dancing
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. net — in sport
  14. chair — a leader
  15. net — after costs
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. club — for golf
  19. tear — from crying
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. club — a group

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com